


Keeping Secrets

by yuuago



Category: A Redtail's Dream (Webcomic)
Genre: Compromise, F/F, Fluff, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-19 11:42:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4745042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuuago/pseuds/yuuago
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some secrets are meant to be kept. Other secrets... aren't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keeping Secrets

"Sandwiches?"

"Check!"

"Camera?"

"Check again!"

"Water?"

"Check and doublecheck. Come _on_ , Riikka, can we go? We have everything, I swear!"

Riikka looked up from the checklist, took in Jonna's impatient expression, blushed, and then promptly folded the sheet of paper. "I guess it isn't the end of the world if we forget something."

"That's right." Jonna reached up and patted her head, offering her a broad smile. "Better be careful! I think Paju's been rubbing off on you."

"Oh, dear." Riikka smiled back, letting herself nuzzle against Jonna's hand for just a moment. "I don't think you need to worry about that."

"Good. One of her is enough. And I like you as you are." Shouldering her backpack, Jonna winked and headed to the door. "Now, let's get going! I don't want to stand around on a nice day like this."

 

It was a warm, sunny summer morning that they stepped out into, bright but not too bright, the world bursting with green. Jonna had good reason to be impatient; on a day like that, it would be a pity to waste the time that they had together. As they made their way into the woods, sunlight filtered in through full-leaved trees, speckling the pathways with gold.

They hadn't had a chance to be alone together for a long time. That wasn't to say that they hadn't been able to see each other at all; it wasn't unusual for Riikka to make her way down to the Kuikka family's general store, catching Jonna while she and Joona were on break - which was almost always - and having a nice chat over cinnamon rolls. Or other times, when they would get together, all of them, and the twins would rope her into some scheme or other. But alone? That was something else again. Normally, Jonna just couldn't put aside the time.

As soon as they were deep enough into the woods that they were sure nobody else would see them, Riikka reached for Jonna's hand.

Ten minutes later, she let go.

"Too warm for hand-holding, eh?" Jonna asked, nudging her playfully.

"Um," Riikka said, stuffing her hands in her pockets, trying to be nonchalant about it. "Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Okay, yes."

"Good. If you hadn't let go, I was going to."

They both fell quiet, and there was nothing but the sound of birdsong and the crunch of the trail under their feet. But eventually, one of them reached for the other's hand again.

This time, it was Jonna.

"This way!" she said, nodding to the side of the trail, where a barely-perceptible gap showed the direction they would take. It would have been invisible if she hadn't pointed it out. "It's really overgrown, so be careful, okay?"

"I'll be fine. Don't worry."

 

They picked their way through, slowly, carefully. If any human had come that way before, it hadn't been for a long time. Plants crept across the path, obscuring it. Branches reached across it, and Jonna held them back to let Riikka through. There was the distinct sensation that they were heading uphill.

They came, eventually, to a place where the trees thinned. And then, a bright sliver of sky was visible, and they stepped out into the open.

A lake stretched out before them, broad and glittering. The trees gave way to flat grassy ground, with a steep drop to the lakeshore. Jonna plunked down beneath a tree and patted the space beside her. "This is what I wanted to show you," she said. "What do you think? A secret place just for us."

Riikka unshouldered her pack and set it down gently. Then she sank down next to Jonna, and when a long arm coiled loosely around her shoulders, just like she expected, she edged a bit closer. "Are you sure it's a secret?"

"Well," Jonna said, "When I came here, there wasn't any sign that anyone had been around. And you can't get to it from the lake; it's too high up, nobody's going to climb that." She gestured lake ward, in the general direction of the village, hardly visible from where they were. "And I think any juvenile delinquents looking for a place to get up to something would stick closer to someplace where they could make a quick getaway, you know?"

Riikka laughed. If anyone was in a position to know exactly what troublemakers would do, it was Jonna. "Okay," she said softly, curling comfortably against Jonna. "It'll be our secret."

 

They talked over lunch, keeping their voices quiet so that they wouldn't be heard from the trails, just in case. Sandwiches and cinnamon rolls from the Kuikka bakery, sugary crumbs that Riikka licked from her fingers one by one. Jonna looked out at the lake, her chin resting on her hands, a satisfied expression on her face. "I had them made with extra sugar crumble," she said, sounding pleased with herself. "Special."

"Just how much planning did you put into this?" Riikka asked, raising an eyebrow. "You aren't going to start making lists, are you?"

"Oh, come on!" Jonna laughed, shaking her head. "You know I don't usually get a day all to myself. So, I wanted to make sure it'd be special for us. Now, is the coffee still hot? Pass the thermos here."

 

They took pictures, passing the camera between them. The forest around them, the sun sparkling on the lake. Ducks on the water, slipping their way through the lakeweeds on the shore below where the two of them sat, content. 

They took pictures of each other, too. Or tried to.

"Come on!" Riikka said, trying to hold the camera steady through her laughter. "I can't get a good photo of you if you keep making those silly faces."

Jonna paused in her fish imitation, looking thoughtful for a moment. "But what if that's what my face naturally looks like?"

"You aren't silly _all_ the time. And I'd like something nice to pin up by my desk."

"Well - all right." A broad smile, flashing pearly white teeth. "How's this?"

"A little less manic, please."

"... Is this better?"

"Yes. Hold on - ah, there." Riikka put the camera down. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" she asked.

Jonna shrugged. "I can't help it! Point a camera at me and my face does that on its own. Joona's the same way."

"I know, I know. I've seen your family photos." Riikka patted the ground beside her, and when Jonna sat next to her, she took up her previous position: curling against her girlfriend's larger form, leaning against her as she started to flip through the pictures on her camera.

"Speaking of family, I... um."

"Um, what?"

"Actually - it's nothing," Riikka said, trying to sound firm, and failing at it. "Don't worry about it."

"You're lying." Jonna's voice was light and singsong. She slid her arm around Riikka's shoulders, tugging her a bit closer. "Now, you tell me what's up. Hmm?"

They both fell quiet for a moment. Riikka thought about it, and Jonna waited, twirling a strand of Riikka's hair around one finger. Neither of them said anything; there was only the birdsong and the hush of leaves as the breeze ruffled them. Then, a deep breath.

"Have you thought about maybe telling someone about this? Um. Us. Telling your family about us."

The hair-fiddling stopped.

"...No?" Jonna said slowly. "No, I haven't."

"... Oh."

"Does it bother you?"

Another long pause. "Well, I'd like to tell _my_ family. You know? But I won't until you're ready."

"Okay."

"...Okay."

The hair-fiddling resumed, long strands slipping through long fingers. Riikka bit her lip and stared down at her hands, feeling too unsure about it to appreciate the gesture that she'd normally find so relaxing. "Are you worried?" she asked finally. "About telling them, I mean."

"What?" Jonna laughed. "No! Dad knows I like girls. And Joona won't care." She tilted her head, pressing a kiss to Riikka's temple. "Do you want to know why I haven't told anybody?"

"Please."

"I wanted you all to myself. Do you know how hard it is for me to have any secrets? Me and Joona are always on top of each other. I have to share _everything_. I mean, I like my family, but..."

"I have a brother too. It isn't like I don't know how that is," Riikka said quietly. Try though she did to keep the pout out of her voice, it managed to sneak in anyway.

"Of course. But Anssi isn't anything like Joona, and you know it." Another kiss, this time to her cheek. "And you don't have someone like Oona around, either. She's so snoopy, I just-"

"I understand."

They both fell quiet. The disappointment in Riikka's voice hung in the air, but so did Jonna's silent, tight-lipped, almost-spoken, _I don't think you understand it at all._

Finally, Jonna sighed, and nodded. "Okay," she said. Then, once again, as if to make it final: "Right. Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yes." Jonna kissed the top of Riikka's head, then sat back, resting on her palms, staring out at the lake. She nodded, seemingly more to herself than to her girlfriend, who watched her carefully, trying to see if she was as certain as she sounded. "I'll tell them tonight."

Riikka felt a blush creep over her cheeks and up around her ears. "You don't have to -"

Jonna held up a hand to silence her. "I know!" she said, grinning. "But it means a lot to you, right? And I guess it's about time, anyway." With a flourish, she held out her hand, the earlier tension completely gone from her face. "Even if it's not a secret, it isn't like you'll leave. Nothing's going to take you away, right?"

A quiet sigh. "Of course not," Riikka said, reaching out to her. "I'm not going anywhere." Her quiet words turned into a shriek of laughter as Jonna pulled her into her arms.

Some secrets didn't need to be kept.

_End_.

**Author's Note:**

> When it occurred to me that these two would be cute together, I just couldn't let go of the idea. (Hopefully I am not the only one?)
> 
> Characterization was challenging, so if anything seems like it needs adjusting, I'd love to discuss it!


End file.
